Jul 23, 2011

I didn't mean to break my silence with a rant but I just need to let this out. I'm browsing my News Feed in Facebook when I saw this page. It's been half an hour but until now I haven't gotten over the fact that they're doing that effin' pose in the craziest places just for the heck of it. It's just... ABSURD...

Look...

And the most ridiculous of them all...

Yeah, add life-threatening too!

I mean, I don't get it. I googled this unbelievable activity and found a few explanations here and here but I still find it (for a lack of better term) stupid. Why do they have to make a fool out of themselves just so they could post something on the internet? Is that was is cool these days? My goodness, what's happening to the youth of today?!?!

And one more thing. They could act stupid all they want and I won't give a d*mn, just not in the uniform that I wore with pride for five years! Sigh.

Okay, I'm done with my piece. Now let me know what you think.

*UPDATE*

If you think PLM Planking is a disgrace to the university, please like this page. I just did.

Jul 13, 2011

I haven't been very active in Twitter lately. In fact, I only log in to join contests (haha!) or exchange a tweet or two with close friends, then sign off. So two nights ago I was surprised when I accidentally clicked the Mentions tab and saw this:

I don't know gerc44 but whoever he is, thanks to him for bringing good news! :)

I hurriedly visited Aryanna's blog (fyi, Aryanna is Ms. Jenni Epperson's unica hija) and I was able to confirm that I actually won one of these techie blings...

I heart! it but I'm sure the boyfriend's gonna love it more.. hahaha.. (photo from Aryanna's blog)

Here's the catch. She posted the winners on June 26 and it's been more than two weeks :-( I was worried that the price gets forfeited but I still e-mailed her. It's worth a try, right? Then just a few hours ago, she replied asking for my delivery address! How awesome is that? :D

Again, thanks a lot to Aryanna and Samsung for this cool giveaway. Can't wait! ^_^

Jul 12, 2011

I'm so kinikilig because it's a dream come true, I mean, putting up my blog in my own .com space. I didn't know it was that easy (and cheap! :D). Special thanks to Calvin (a high-profile blogger who turns out to be a former officemate :)) for posting about Namecheap, and for replying to my queries and making me believe that I can actually do it on my own.

Again, its www.maudesavenueofthoughts.com! Geez, I'm still on a high ♥_♥

Jul 9, 2011

I was fresh from college when I was hired by my current company. I can still recall how my hiring process only took more or less 5 hours -- took an exam at 2pm, went through an HR interview and a sorta technical one, and at around 7pm, I found myself seated across a resource management staff with a pen in my hand and sheet of paper called "job offer". Even I couldn't believe that I just landed my first job! The next day, Friday, we were oriented and the following Monday, I officially stepped into the stressful awesome world of IT :-P

Along with 16 other fresh grads, I underwent an intensive two-month COBOL Boot Camp. It was a primitive programming language, yes, but it's still very much in-demand in the field. Donned in the most decent office attire in my closet, I braved my first day at work. Turns out I wasn't that brave because came evening, I was crying to J over the phone telling him 3 words in between sobs: I. WANNA. QUIT.

I wish it were that easy but it's not. With the contract that I signed, I agreed to a bond of 2 years with the company. I endured the training and was thankfully deployed to a project that doesn't have anything to do with COBOL. Perhaps it was a waste but I know I'm better off where I landed: Software Quality Assurance. A tester's job gets boring (yeah, add repetitive too) but doing it, the 2 years flew by so quickly. I guess it's true what they say -- If you can't do the things that you love, love the things that you do. I did just that and the next thing I knew, the bond is over... We're free! :-)

Okay, that was a long intro, huh? Now off to the real story:

Note: It's my first time to set the photos to extra large and I love just how clear they are. They however extend to the sidebar but please bear with it for the mean time. I'll try to ask for help fixing it, or maybe you could refer me to someone? ^_^

We celebrated our freedom over dinner at Bonchon Chicken at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.

The place is quite small so be sure to arrive earlier if you're dining during peak hours. We were there around 6pm so we were able to secure a good seat.

In case you want a preview of their offerings :-) Much like your usual fast food. The prices are relatively affordable, too.

This is what I got: Combo B at Php 145. The chicken is really tender but it didn't meet my expectations. The skin, as expected, is crispy but it ends there. The meat itself lacks flavor.

One of my co-bootcampers ordered the large chicken basket. A combo of 6 drumsticks and 12 wings for Php 720. It's perfect for a large group like us. By the way, they have 2 chicken variants: soy garlic and spicy. If you're like me who has low tolerance for spicy food, do not dare try Bonchon's. I bit into one by accident and almost finished my large Coke trying to wash away the taste. To no avail.

Me and half of the wing part. This tastes better than the drumstick so I'm happy :-) I think I finished 4 of this (or more). Haha.

Now meet the culprits -- 6 of the COBOL peeps. We were the first to arrive to reserve seats for everyone. Oh, if I may add, I love the Bonchon crew for being patient with us asking them to take group pictures once in a while :)

We reminisced our training days and talked about how far each of us has come in a span of 2 years. And speaking of far, we offered a brief moment of silence for Chard, our batchmate who's in Texas for a long-term assignment. We miss youuuuuuuuu! :P

And finally, a group shot including all who came to celebrate :-)

It was indeed a fun get-together. Some of us are already thinking of letting new opportunities in so we savored each other's company while it lasts. Happy 2nd Anniversary to us, guys! And wherever fate takes us in the next years, I'll always be proud to have become a part of our batch :-)

Please excuse this really short post. I'm just passing time waiting for the bug fixes (yep, in the office on a weekend.. boo!) when I saw this lovelies at Ms. D's shoe shop and fell in love... I really really wanna faint because they're just so beautiful and I wanna have them now. As in N-O-W.